Synthesis and luminescence of Ca4YO(BO3)3:Eu3+ for fluorescent lamp application

The red-emitting Ca4YO(BO3)(3):Eu3+ phosphor has been prepared at 1200 degrees C by the simple solid-state reaction. This preparation temperature is much lower than Y2O3:Eu3+ (1400-1500 degrees C) for conventional solid-state reaction method. In particular, the complete process to produce high-quality phosphor particles was carried out through the single-step heat treatment of the mixture of corresponding oxide-type metal sources. For this material, the XRD, PL, PL excitation (PLE) and SEM features have also been investigated. The X-ray diffraction data indicate that pure phase of Ca4YO(BO3)(3):Eu3+ can be successfully obtained. Among the different emission transitions D-5(0) -> F-7(J=0. 1. 2. 3. 4) of this phosphor, one particular transition (D-5(0) -> F-7(2)) at 610 nm has been found. Besides carrying out these essential measurements, we have also made an attempt to observe a strong red emission performance displayed by this phosphor for use as coating material on compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). The results clearly indicate that the life time based on Ca4YO(BO3)(3):Eu3+ was found to be much longer than that using Y2O3:Eu3+. The good performances of the CFLs demonstrate that this phosphor may be suitable for application on short ultraviolet fluorescent lamp. Crown Copyright (C) 2010 Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.